


Just Another Undercover Dance

by SerStolas



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Assassination Attempt(s), DailyRebelCaptain 2020 BigBang, Established Relationship, F/M, Rebel Alliance (Star Wars), Rebelcaptain Big Bang, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerStolas/pseuds/SerStolas
Summary: When someone attempts to assassinate Princess Leia on a diplomatic mission, Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso must go undercover at an Imperial Ball to discover who is trying to kill their beloved Princess.  Undercover identities, partners working together, and dancing abound.Part of the DailyRebelCaptain 2020 Big Bang.  Find more information here:  https://dailyrebelcaptain.tumblr.com/Visuals by the fantastic Dopt or on Tumblr @doptimous
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38
Collections: Rebelcaptain Big Bang 2020





	1. Nar Shaddaa

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the DailyRebelCaptain 2020 Big Bang, organized by the awesome mods on Tumblr @dailyrebelcaptain
> 
> Beautiful visuals created and drawn by my Big Bang Partner doptimous. Please go and check them out on Tumblr @doptimous. Here's a direct link to the moodboard https://doptimous.tumblr.com/post/636228704112148480/just-another-undercover-dance-by-serstolas-jyn
> 
> And a lovely picture of Leia and Jyn talking to Cassian https://doptimous.tumblr.com/post/636228987091288064/the-princess-settled-herself-into-the-one

Nar Shaddaa, a wretched hive of scum and villainy by some accounts, but probably one of the safer places in the universe right now for a couple members of the rebel alliance who were on a mission looking for potential allies. In her years living with Saw, Jyn had been to any number of dangerous places and met many shifty people. Jyn knew she could navigate Nar Shaddaa on a mission for the Rebellion, it was herself she was worried about.

Leia Organa stood bedecked in rather more expensive garments than the princess would wear back on base on Hoth, but that was a part of the mission. Leia had been invited to a ball on Nar Shaddaa by a contact who promised the chance to secure more supply lines for the Rebellion, but those potential allies had requested Leia specifically rather than some other member of the Rebellion, and that set Rebel Intelligence on edge. The person that reached out to them was vetted, and a certain amount of vetting could be done, but sending Princess Leia to a party on Nar Shaddaa did not come without significant risks, risks that even General Draven really wasn’t particularly comfortable with.

Sometimes Jyn wondered if Leia was force sensitive with as persuasive as she could be. What Leia wanted, Leia eventually got, though Mon Mothma and General Draven flat out refused to allow Leia to go on her own, thus Jyn’s presence and that of a Republic trooper by the name of Graser Moccott. Leia would be posing as Prismira Junsen, a socialite from a rich Corellian family, with Jyn posing as her companion and Graser as her bodyguard. Supposedly the only ones who would know her true identity were their contacts, though Jyn didn’t know how much she trusted people she’d never met or personally vetted, or someone that Cassian hadn’t vetted himself, but Cassian had been away on a mission for the past two months so she really couldn’t ask him.

Jyn smoothed the skirt of the expensive silk dress she’d been given to play her “part” in all of this, mentally checking that she could access the knives hidden on her person through the slide slits. Graser more openly carried weapons since he’s cover was that of “bodyguard,” but it still would have made her feel better to have a blaster on hand.

Leia shot a side glance at Jyn from the seat beside her as their transport wove its way through the dizzying Nar Shaddaa air traffic. In the days prior to their arrival on Nar Shaddaa, Leia had spent her time teaching Jyn how to walk properly in the heels and expenses dresses and clothing they were expected to wear as a part of their cover. As someone with a lifetime of experience being on display, Jyn had thankful Leia at least taught her how to move more comfortably in such clothing. It was all about how you balanced yourself, Leia had advised.

“Excited Sylva?” Leia asked in a conversational tone, her gaze appearing to be on Jyn, but Jyn knew the princess was as observant as she was intelligent, and all three of them knew that their driver was watching them.

“I suppose, Prismira,” Jyn replied in a bored tone. “It is Nar Shaddaa. It’s all very pretty and glittering, but I would prefer if this party were back at home.”  
Let their driver think she and Leia were nothing but a spoiled socialite and her spoiled friend, let their driver and others underestimate them. 

“Mm, but Nar Shaddaa may offer opportunities that home does not,” Leia smirked. “We may see things we wouldn’t see at home, given the availability of entertainment here that you can’t get on other planets.”

“I suppose it is something we can explore,” Jyn shrugged disinterestedly. “Your thoughts, Ferle?” she asked Graser as she glanced at the trooper.

Graser merely grunted in response, playing his part, the bodyguard who was just paid to keep a socialite alive and wasn’t paid enough to care about their silly banter. At least their cover was believable.

The transport slowed and hovered at the entrance to another section of the planet city. Leia and Jyn gracefully stepped out of the transport, Graser following intimidatingly a few feet behind. As Jyn and Leia linked arms and perfected expressions of bored rich girls as they walked from the platform towards the entrance of the ballroom their potential friends had rented for the party. Jyn observed the other party goers watching them, calculating and then dismissing them as debutants. A few eyes lingered over Graser, those immoral beings debating if it would be worth razzing these two socialites given their large and threatening shadow. 

Those who appeared to take interest in them other than mild amusement were the ones Jyn decided to focus her attention on. Mild amusement could be manipulated, used to make people think you weren’t worth looking at beyond a chuckle or two. She knew there were petty criminals sizing them up, debating if stripping her and Leia of their valuables this evening would be worth it. And then there were those few individuals who took more interest in them, who hid calculating gazes behind cups of wine. 

Jyn caught the slight tilt of Leia’s head, the shift of Graser’s body between them and the few of some of the party goers and knew her companions had caught those glances too. As far as she knew, Graser was mainly ground support, but his dossier mentioned he’d been on protection detail more than once with Ingelltence, and that made her wonder exactly what kind of background he came from. These would be questions for later, after they’d made connection with their contact, after they’d survived the night.

The weight of the thigh sheaths she wore rested comfortingly against her skin as she guided Leia towards the bar and they acquired a set of garish cocktails before they began to weave their way among the crowd. They’d both made sure to eat a proper meal before coming, and neither had any intent on actually consuming the varied drinks and food put on display for the party goers. In a place like Nar Shaddaa there was too much at stake.

Jyn kept her attention on observation, following Leia around the party as a clinger on would, convincing people there wasn’t might to her except for the occasional comments she made on someone’s dress or the general atmosphere. Those they encountered seemed to accept the farce that Leia was the social butterfly who had so much fun meeting new people, and Jyn was just her old friend who came to these things to humor Leia so that Leia would continue to take her to more interesting events. 

Jyn’s eyes scanned the room as Leia chatted up one of the other party goers, the Princess’s eyes wide as if she was thoroughly awed by the exploits the vapid young men were describing for her. She felt more than saw Graser’s presence on Leia’s other side, his face a blank mask as if totally unaffected by the drinking and excess around them. Jyn saw him tilt his head over so slightly to the left, his expression never changing, his eyes never moving.

Ah, it looks as if they’d certainly gotten someone’s attention. A well dressed human male, early 30s, hair bleached an unhealthy yellow, and his entourage were making their way towards Jyn and Leia. Jyn noted the red haired and leaned Zabrak woman in his party, mind mentally flickering through the descriptions of their contacts they’d been given and felt a small wave of satisfaction. The human man would be Opeir, a man known publicly for his interest in the trade of certain not entirely legally substances (then again few things were legal under the Empire), and the golden skinned Zabrak with her elaborate black tattoos would be Hovox, an individual whose name Jyn had heard in discussion of weapon shipments for the Rebellion. She shifted against Leia, her arm still linked through the other woman’s as she turned her companion towards the approaching group. 

“Ah, Prismira, my dear, it is so lovely to see you,” Opeir greeted Leia, his smile bright and toothy as he opened his arms in an extremely familiar gesture. 

Leia giggled, high and giddy, a sound that Jyn knew she’d never have heard out of the other woman if they weren’t undercover, and slipped her arm out of Jyn’s to green Opeir with a delicate air kiss, one he returned. Hovox hummed, looking slightly bored as Opeir greeted Leia, her gaze flickering over Graser and giving him an appraising look before she gave an approving smirk before her gaze fell on Jyn. Jyn returned her gaze with a slight arch of an eyebrow. Hovox gave a tiny nod in response before both turned to the conversation between Leia and Opeir. 

“It’s been far too long since the two of us were able to spend any time together, dear Opeir,” Leia told the human male. “I’d hate to leave the party so soon after we got here, but do promise me we can speak later?”

“Of course, lovely Prismira,” Opeir gave his toothy grin again. “Why don’t Hovox and I show you around a bit and introduce you to a few of the more interesting guests?”

Under ordinary circumstances, Jyn got the impression Hovox would have snorted, but they were all playing a part here, and the tall Zabrak merely inclined her head to Opeir’s offer. Leia tittered and slipped her arm through Jyn’s once more, the soft brush of silk on silk hissing softly as they moved. “As long as I can bring Sylva with me.”

“Of course!” Opeir replied magnanimously. “Any friend of yours is certainly welcome.” 

He swept them through the party, then, introducing them to various members of the Nar Shaddaa underworld. He and Leia spoke in low tones in between groups of party goers, and Jyn listened, noting Hovox’s own attention on Leia and Opeir’s conversation as they used the party to discuss the delicate beginning of a mutually beneficial agreement. There would be an additional meeting later, Jyn knew, under more private circumstances in a safer location. The cover of the party gave Opeir and Hovox a chance to gage Leia and the Rebellion, and gave Leia, Graser, and Jyn a chance to do the same.

Jyn pretended to sip at her drink, letting Leia continue to take the lead as she people watched. Some of those who had watched her and Leia with more intent earlier seemed less interested since they walked with Opeir and Hovox now. From the dossiers she’d read, she knew Opeir and Hovox had their own contacts and reputation here on Nar Shaddaa, and associated with them made Leia less of a target, since others assumed that Opeir might take issue with someone else playing with his “friend.”

Jyn couldn’t relax though, for all that she looked like a bored hanger on, her senses were still tuned into the party goers around them, something prickling the back of her neck. 

Glaser covered the left, hovering near Leia’s side with his forbidding expression, and Jyn felt the threat didn’t come from that direction. Where then?

She jerked Leia to the right suddenly, appearing as if she’d stumbled as the sound of blaster fire hissed through the air. She’d pulled Leia abruptly right and down. Graser’s blaster slipped into his hand and he covered Leia. For a moment Jyn saw the shock on Opeir’s expression and the rage flickering through Hovox’s eyes, instinct telling her they were not behind this attempt. 

The party erupted in pandemonium as Opeir and Hovox with a few hissed words and gestures directed the three Rebellion members towards a maintenance exit and away from the crowds. Jyn’s fingers slipped through the slit on her dress and freed her snap baton from its strap on her thigh and whipped it open, holding it ready as they slipped out the maintenance door and into a tunnel. Graser brought up the rear, kicking the heavy door shut and using brute force to topple nearby crates in front of the door to cover their exit. 

Jyn thanked the Force that Leia had made her practice for weeks walking and fighting in her kriffing dress shoes as they moved down the maintenance tunnel. Trusting Opeir and Hovax to get them to safety was risky, but staying closer to the party was riskier, and Jyn and Graser’s exit plans involved perloing a vehicle they didn’t have access to yet. Her instincts told her to trust them so for the moment she would. Reading their dossiers and knowing her skills, Leia’s, and Graser’s, they could overpower the other two if absolutely necessary.

“Sorry about the smell, but this is the safest way out,” Hovax apologized as they paused at another maintenance entrance. Jyn’s lips twisted slightly when she recognized the entrance to a sewer tunnel, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d used sewers to escape, or the last. 

“Safety is more important than clothing,” Leia replied with a cool smile. Hovax caught the glint in the Princess’s eye and raised an eyebrow. After a second she gave an approving nod, and opened the entrance to the sewer tunnel. Hovax took the lead, followed by Jyn and Leia, Jyn glued to the princess’s side, then Opeir and Graser brought up the rear. 

They met surprisingly little resistance, other than sewer dwelling creatures which were dispatched easily enough with batons and blasters, and twenty stinking minutes later, they emerged on an out of the way dock and found a waiting speeder. 

“One of our transports we have stashed in various places in the city,” Opeir explained when Graser gave him a wary and questioning look. “We can head to my apartment here and talk more there.”

Leia exchanged a glance with Jyn, unspoken words passing between the two. Jyn shrugged and replied to Graser’s tense expression, “We’ve trusted them this far. If they wanted to kill us, they would have done so already.”

Opeir shook with mirth. “It is rare someone reads us so well.”

“It is also more expedient than arranging another meeting,” Leia said. “If you will allow us to make use of your refresher, Opeir, then perhaps we can sit down to caf and start preliminary talks about an alliance to benefit us both.”

Opeir sketched a bow. “Of course, Princess. I have guest quarters, if you prefer to have your belongings brought to my apartment, it’s probably cleaner than the hotel you’re booked at right now.”

At this, Graser snorted. “That I can believe. Whoever booked our lodgings has no idea what decent accommodations on Nar Shaddaa actually look like.”

“Apartment first, then we can deal with belongings,” Jyn declared, casting a glance back over her shoulder at the sewer exit. This dock seemed relatively safe, but she’d feel better once they were in the air. 

“Of course,” Opeir agreed, ushering them into the speeder.  
****  
They spent many hours early into the morning discussing a mutually beneficial arrangement between the Rebellion and Opeir and Hovax’s association of pilots and cargo haulers. Jyn felt they’d made decent progress despite the excitement of the evening by the time she and Leia retired for the night. Opeir’s home decor showed the taste of someone who appreciated money and luxury but didn’t try to show it off with over the top furnishings or glitz. Jyn appreciated the understated elegance.

Glaser insisted on sleeping in the living room outside the room Jyn and Leia would sleep in, and Jyn took the room closer to the door as another line of defense between Leia and the exit, just in case. While the evening and instincts told her they could trust their new allies, it was still best to exercise caution.

Leia merely twitched her eyebrows when Jyn selected her bed before she set up the travel holo terminal she’d brought with her and called back to the Rebellion on a secure channel.

The Princess settled herself into the one comfortable chair in the room, and Jyn for a moment had an imagine of Leia in the position of a queen ruling her planet, before she moved to stand at Leia’s left shoulder, her eyes on the flickering terminal as their Rebellion contact came into view. 

Jyn noted first the dark circles under his eyes and wondered if he’d just gotten back from an op recently. Previously they’d been speaking with another member of Intelligence, but Jyn was unsurprised that Cassian had evidently taken over when he returned from his last assignment and discovered she and Leia were no longer on base.

“Safe and sound?” Cassian inquired as his gaze trailed over Leia and Jyn. Jyn knew he was searching for any sign of injury, one of the first things he did on the rare occasions these days when they were able to meet up on base. 

“Safe as we can be,” Leia responded, glancing ruefully at Jyn. “Based on what our contacts here can find and what little Graser was able to track down while we were in negotiations, someone with Imperial ties may have been tipped off to our presence at the gala. Hovax thinks it's too coincidental to be just a random gang attack.”

“She’s already offered to look into it with her contacts here on Nar Shaddaa. The Zabrak is right,” Jyn told Cassian, when his gaze asked her for her take on the subject. “Someone knew we would be there. It’s easy to get lost on Nar Shaddaa, thankfully, but we’ll want to arrange another exit from the moon. I’d rather not run the risk of using our original plans.”

“That can be arranged,” Cassian replied, a frown forming on his brow. “We’ll start looking into leads on our end here. There’s bound to be a plant or a loose end somewhere in the planning that let things slip.”

“A loose end or hole that needs to be plugged,” Jyn nodded.

Cassian’s lips twitched into a tired smile as he recognized the set of her shoulders. He and Jyn had worked together a number of times in the first few years after Rogue One, it allowed for an easy read on each other’s body language. “You and Graser focus on getting Leia off planet, no matter how tempting it might be to explore Nar Shaddaa for leads.”

Jyn huffed, though they both knew as tempting as it might be to look for leads here, she never would abandon her post in guarding Leia (even if the Princess argued that she didn’t really need a bodyguard). “We’ll be heading out in another day or two. Between Graser and Hovax, we’ll find a safe transport out. Find a port, then go to a safehouse and call for a ride out.”

“Basic negotiations should be wrapped up tomorrow,” Leia agreed. “If it were a safer place than Nar Shaddaa I’d want to stay longer, but our part was initial contact and base negotiations, now that we have the contacts we need, our quartermasters diplomats can handle the negotiation of the actual contract.”

“Particularly given the attempt on your life,” Cassian nodded. He didn’t entirely like the idea of them staying on Nar Shaddaa after the attempt, but for the moment it was safer for them to plan careful exit from the moon city, rather than something more rushed that would attract the wrong kind of attention.

“We’re safe here for now, Cassian,” Jyn told him firmly. 

“You’re sure?” he cocked a brow.

“If she says we are, I trust her instincts,” Leia put in her two credits. 

“Oh, I trust them, it doesn’t mean I really like the situation,” Cassian sighed. “Keep your holo communicator handy, just in case.”

“We both will, Cassian,” Jyn promised him. “You should get some rest, I can tell you must have just gotten back in from the assignment. You haven’t even been to the ‘fresher yet, have you?”

“Came from debrief,” he admitted. “I’ll hit the refresher and our quarters, Jyn, and I’ll get some sleep, I promise.”

“You’d better,” she replied.

His lips twitched again. “May the Force be with you.”

The holo communicator flickered out and Leia gave Jyn a very pointed gaze, but Jyn merely shrugged. “We’ll try and spend at least a few hours together when you and I get back to base if he’s still there,” she said. “But chances are Draven or someone else is monitoring our communications right now, and Cassian and I are a little more private than that.”

“You two certainly have more discretion than some,” Leia agreed.

“What like that A Wing pilot and the blond Zabrak Pathfinder in Kes’s squad?” Jyn grinned.

“I’m fairly certain they will never live down their last reunion in the mess,” Leia chuckled softly. She rose from her chair and stretched. “We have a few more hours to rest before we meet with Opeir and his partner tomorrow while Graser works with Hovax on our exit strategy. I suggest we make the most of it.”

Having been on more than one op where sleep had been a luxury, Jyn aquesessed her agreement and the two of them settled in for the night.


	2. Interim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting the Princess to safety and a reunion with a loved one.
> 
> Beautiful artwork by Doptimous!  
> https://doptimous.tumblr.com/post/636230395724283904/jyn-at-least-waited-until-he-was-out-of-the-room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to check out @Dailyrebelcaptain on Tumblr
> 
> Also give my visual partner some love on Tumblr @doptimous

Despite the success of their mission and subsequent successful and unnoticed escape from Nar Shaddaa to a safehouse on the utter swamp that was Nal Hutta, Jyn felt certain she would not be comfortable until she, Leia, and Graser were back on base, or at least on their ride out of here. Still, Nal Hutta was preferable to being on a city-moon where people were actively trying to kill them.

She stood in the small main room that served as a living room in the safehouse and idly stirred sweetener into the abomination they called Caf on this planet. Leia sat in a rickety chair, her fingers moving quickly along the partially cracked screen of their datapad that they’d been compiling their joint report on since arriving on the Hutt controlled planet. 

Saw Guerra had never been fond of the Hutts, so she’d had limited exposure to them during her time under Saw’s command but Saw insisted that she at least learn about them. She knew them to be gangsters and some of the most well organized criminals in this part of the galaxy, and they wielded and incredible amount of power, enough power that the Rebels didn’t wish to draw their ire, particularly since while there was some Imperial presence on many Hutt worlds, there was less presence here on Nal Hutta than some other planets they might have sought refuge on.

Jyn offered the sweetened caf to Leia who took it absently before going to pour herself a cup. Her eyes flickered towards the door and then at the time displayed over the small kitchen. Graser still had another two hours before she and Leia would need to worry about his return, but it still made Jyn nervous when the three of them weren’t in the same place right now.  
The truth is she’d been on edge since the assassination attempt at the gala. Based on her last conversation with Hovax, she felt confident that someone had been targeting Leia specifically, and knew that Leia was a powerful figure within the Rebellion. Her instincts had saved her and her companions more than once, and she trusted them now, that her part in all of this wouldn’t be finished when she, Leia, and Graser arrived safely back on base.

“Any new communications?” Jyn asked, already feeling the answer, but Leia had been using the datapad most of the day, so Jyn felt it was at least polite to ask if anything had come through on it.

Leia glanced up from the pad with a droll look. “You already know the answer to that Jyn, don’t pretend you don’t.” Her expression turned contemplative as she gazed at her friend. “You could probably still benefit from some of the training Luke is receiving, you know?”

Jyn gave a firm shake of her head. This was an old minor disagreement between the two of them. “What Baze and Chirrut have taught me is enough. I’m not meant to be a Jedi. Maybe I am Force sensitive, Luke certainly seems to agree, but I’m no Jedi. I’m more used to the Rebellion wherever Intelligence sends me.”

Leia gave her a knowing look before turning her eyes back to the datapad. They both knew that what Jyn meant was she refused to follow a path that might tear her further away from Rogue One, or Cassian. The members of Rogue One had been forged in a different kind of flame, and while Bodhi worked with the pilots, and Cassian and Jyn worked with Intelligence and all three knew that their work would pull them away from each other at times, they all held onto the desperate hope that they would all survive this, and would reunite each time within the Rebellion. While Luke’s place in the Rebellion was firmly sealed, he’d been looking into the possibility of more training than Chirrut could give him now, had been looking into rumors of Jedi other than Obi Wan Kenobi who might have survived Order 66.

That was not a path Jyn wanted to walk. Her instincts told her it would take her further from her found family than she ever wanted to go.

Jyn leaned back against the counter and sipped her caf, her eyes flickering restlessly around the room. She could wait for hours in an ambush as Saw had taught her, but she felt a nervous energy right now, something itching at her brain, telling her to expect something. She just couldn’t tell if that something would be good or bad, and it bothered her.

Leia had picked up on that nervous energy this morning, for all that she appeared to sit serenely in her chair filling in reports on a datapad, but Leia had been trained to maintain the cool, collected mask of a Princess and diplomat from early childhood. Jyn’s education had taught her how to wait for hours in ambush, how to fight, when to back down, and how to lie, but on some level, when she could tell that she was safe, she let her mask down as Leia might not.

Another ten minutes passed before Leia handed Jyn the pad. “Add your observations during negotiation to what I wrote,” she ordered. The fact that it might take Jyn’s mind off her own nervous energy went unspoken between them. Jyn accepted the pad without argument and began carefully guiding the stylus along the screen.

“If they’ve found more since we left Nar Shaddaa, we probably won’t find out anything until we get on our transport, or until we return to Hoth,” Leia mused as she watched Jyn leaning back against the counter and adding notes to the report. “I don’t like it much more than you do, Jyn, but they want us to focus on getting back to base first where they can receive a full report.”

“And Intelligence may have found some leads once we get back based on Hovax’s information,” Jyn agreed. “Though it will be a question of what they decide to do with it next.”

“They probably won’t want to let me off base again anytime soon,” Leia said, resigned. There was no bitterness in her words, just an acceptance that while there was much she could do for the Rebellion, there were still a number of people within the Rebellion that liked Leia safely in the command center rather than out in the field. 

Jyn let her eyes flicker up from the pad and took in Leia’s expression. She understood the other woman’s frustration, for all that they’d lead very different lives. Jyn hated feeling useless, and she knew sometimes Leia wished she could help more directly in the field, help their soldiers and spies who put their lives on the line day by day. But Leia was a diplomatic genius, and they needed her desperately in the command center most of the time.

“Maybe someday, after we win, when the Empire’s fallen, maybe we can have more control over what we do,” Jyn suggested. She and Leia spoke like that often, speaking of WHEN the Empire would fall, WHEN the Rebellion would win, because neither of them would accept anything less, and neither would ever give up hope. 

They heard the slight hiss of the door to the safehouse sliding up and Graser stepped inside, casting a glare back over his shoulder at the rain before removing a poncho he wore against the humid, damp climate of Nal Hutta. 

“News?” Jyn asked, setting the stylus and datapad down.

Graser grunted for a moment while shaking out the poncho then nodded. “Our ride out of here should be in port sometime late this evening. Hutt’s will want a port tax to make it worth their while, so we’ll leave in the early hours of the morning, enough time for some cargo to be shoved off the ship and for us to slip on. They didn’t want to attract too much undo attention from what I can tell, so it’s a freight hauler that’s coming.”

A faint smile flickered over Leia’s lips. “Well, it certainly won’t be the first time I’ve been rescued by a cargo ship.”

“Pretty sure Han would want your head for calling the Falcon just a ‘cargo ship,’” Jyn snorted in amusement.

“Solo can love that ship all he wants, it’s still a hunk of junk,” Leia replied firmly. 

“Just for that, bet it’s the ship that gets us off the planet,” Jyn mused.

Graser snorted at that one. “Solo’s still got at least one Hutt on his tail for money owed. He wouldn’t land on Nal Hutta unless it was an absolute emergency.”

“Makes me wonder who they’re sending then.” Jyn glanced at Leia and Graser in askance. 

Both shrugged. “I just know it’s a Rebel who will be piloting the thing,” Graser told them. “The Wailing Wind.”

Leia quirked a brow. “It is one of our ships, but the pilot changes from time to time, depending on what the ship is needed for.”

“At least we know the ship, and the pilot, will be friendly,” Jyn sighed. She picked up the pad again and made a few more notes. “We can finish our report at least before we leave tomorrow morning.”

Graser muttered under his breath but gave a scowl of agreement when Leia shot him a look. “Hate paperwork, but I’ll add my bits after she finishes,” he promised the Princess.

“Good.”  
~~~  
They’d all managed to catch a few hours of sleep prior to their departure, though Jyn found herself hoping the ship had bunks. Graser muttered under his breath about ship bunks when she mentioned it aloud as they made their way through the spaceport and towards their transport’s docking bay. Jyn gave him a sympathetic grimace. While Leia and Jyn were 1.5 meters and 1.6 meters respectively, Graser stood well over 1.9 meters, and sleeping in the bunks on most ships would be uncomfortable for someone that tall.

“I’d be better off in the cargo bay,” he told them as the two women. He led them through the hall into the docking bay, moving with purpose and caution as they maneuvered around stacks of freight. 

When Jyn saw the VCX-100 that awaited them, and the pilot leaning idly on another stack of freight, a grin lit her face. The Siren’s Vigil was and her pilot were as familiar to Jyn as her own family, and, after a quick check that they weren’t being observed too closely, she crossed the distance between them and the ship’s pilot with a few quick steps and let him sweep her up in an engulfing embrace. 

Bodhi Rook looked down at his friend as Leia and Graser reached them, grinning as broadly as Jyn. “Been awhile since I’ve seen you, but when they said you needed a pickup, I just happened to be back on base and volunteered.”

Since they’d survived Rogue one, Bodhi had been taken in by the Rebellion pilots, and while he could have easily had his choice of ship types after his actions on Scarif, he’d chosen to fly as a freight pilot for the Rebellion. “They need fighter pilots, but they need freighters and other pilots too,” he’d told Jyn and Cassian when they asked why he’d chosen this instead of being an X-Wing or A-Wing pilot. 

“Kriffing good to see you,” Jyn told her friend as they stopped hugging. Bodhi gave a friendly nod to Graser and tilted his head to Leia. “Welcome aboard the Siren’s Vigil,” he told them as he ushered them up the cargo ramp. “I’ve already got a small haul that I’ve gotten loaded to justify our presence here, but this being a Hutt planet, I’ll still feel better once we’re out in space again.”

“You already pay the bribe?” Graser asked bluntly as he followed Bodhi towards the cockpit once they were aboard.

“I did that when I got here,” Bodhi replied with mild amusement. “You act like I haven’t been flying freight and smuggling for the past few years.”

Jyn closed the cargo doors, running through the familiar process of ensuring they were locked before she followed Leia to the cockpit as Bodhi and Graser prepared for take off. When she’d first met Bodhi, before the Rebellion, before Scarif, she wouldn’t have imagined him willingly running smuggling runs for the Rebellion, but now, well, the Rebellion, and Scarif, had changed them all for the better.

The tension Jyn felt in her shoulders over the past few days slipped away as she felt the ship lifting off and saw the planet vanishing in the ship’s front windows and space speeding towards them. They were with the pilot she trusted most on a rebel ship and heading back towards base. While as members of the Rebellion they might never be completely safe, her senses told her this was the safest they’d probably been prior to the party where they’d encountered the would be assassins. 

“What’s the word back at base?” Leia asked as Bodhi prepared the ship for the jump to hyperspace. Graser cast a glance at Leia at the question, then back at their pilot. 

“They’ve been busy,” Bodhi replied, his eyes locked on his navigation system, plotting their hyperspace jumps with a practiced hand. “I don’t know everything since I’m not in Intelligence, but from Cassian’s behavior I think they’ve found at least one lead.”

Bodhi hummed to himself as the stars before them suddenly formed a field of white as they made their first jump. He glanced back towards Jyn as they came out on the other side of the jump. “But I can tell you that Cassian warned me you probably wouldn’t have much downtime before they sent you out on your next mission. They probably want you on the trail since you were there for the first attempt.”

Jyn snorted, though she wasn’t surprised by Bodhi’s words. “Hopefully they’ll at least let me use a refresher and sleep in a real bed before they send me back out again.”

Bodhi shrugged. They both knew the missions Jyn took were never regularly timed. It all depended on when and where the Rebellion needed her. Sometimes she had mere hours between missions, and sometimes it was weeks. She really hoped she would get at least a few hours with Cassian though before she had to ship out again.

“Cassian should be on base at least when we get there,” Bodhi said, reading his friend easily. In the years since she’d been working for the Rebellion, there were few people who could read Jyn as easily as the members of Rogue One. 

“That’s one relief at least.” Jyn was better at letting herself admit her emotions than she had been before Scarif, before Rogue One. Their survival had been the will of the Force, or she’d heard more than one member of the Rebellion say. Bodhi’s inexplicable survival, and that of a Rebel Ground Trooper who’d helped Bodhi recover Chirrut, Baze, Cassian, and Jyn before the planet had been completely engulfed had become the stuff of Legend amongst the Rebellion.

When Jyn had first awoken in the medbay on Yavin, she’d been disoriented, but the first word on her lips had been “Cassian.” Her wake up had triggered the appearance of medical staff, and one wane looking Bodhi, who assured her that Cassian was still alive, though still unconscious since the Battle of Scarif.

Bodhi and Baze’s steady presence, reminding her that this was all real and that they’d survived, while they sat in silent vigil and Cassian’s bedside, Chirrut’s cubicle beside Cassian’s, that had helped her remember she could trust in this, helped her believe it was real, after all the losses she’d suffered. Rogue One had taught her to trust again. And since then, she treasured what time she could get with her Rogue One family, particularly with Cassian.

Bodhi updated them on the latest news around the Rebellion as they flew back to base. He also directed them to a trunk of winter gear for all of them, since they were heading back to Hoth after having been on much warmer planets for a few weeks. 

Jyn zipped up her parka as she settled into the co-pilot seat beside Bodhi as they flew towards the ice covered planet that currently housed the Rebellion’s main base. Since joining the Rebellion, they’d seen worse planets, but not by much, and Jyn sometimes found herself dreaming of the hot jungles of Yavin where she and Rogue One had been housed in the med bay and then a large bunk room together prior to the evacuation of Yavin.

A brief look of relief flickered over Leia’s expression when they finally docked and Luke Skywalker could be seen through the cockpit windows, waiting for them. Baze’s tall form accompanied him, and both men approached the ship as the doors opened and the passengers disembarked. 

Jyn only briefly paid attention to Luke throwing his arm around Leia in greeting, her attention taken by Baze and his familiar armored form. She’d only ever seen him without armor in the confines of the rooms that Rogue One had shared occasionally over during their time in the Rebellion, or later when she’d gone to visit the smaller bunk he shared with Chirrut here on Yavin. Bodhi bunked with them occasionally, though more often with pilots who happened to have room in their bunks depending on the night. 

Jyn had shared a bunk, and a bed, since shortly after the evacuation from Yavin. Originally it had been under the guise that no single bunks were available, but Bodhi’d had bets going with at least half the base that Jyn and Cassian were romantically involved. Jyn didn’t think anyone had been surprised when the close friendship between her and the spy, built on shared experience and trust, had turned into a relationship of romantic persuasion. 

“Little sister, little brother,” Baze greeted her and Bodhi and caught them both up in a hug, his voice rumbling in their ears. 

“Nice to see you too, Baze,” Bodhi’s tone was fond as he slung an arm over Baze’s shoulder.

Jyn returned the hug then stepped back. “Hello Baze. Where are Chirrut and Cassian?”

Baze snorted. “Chirrut is meditating and probably debating on how to knock more sense into that one,” he nodded towards where Leia and Luke were talking. “Cassian should be out of his meeting soon. I’m told they want to to report for debrief and then they’ll give you a night before they hand out a new assignment.”

“Few hours here then they ship me out again, huh?” Jyn asked with some humor. “I’ll see you and Chirrut at dinner at least?”

Baze nodded. “You will. Get going, sooner you’ve done debrief the sooner you can kip a nap before dinner.”

Jyn shot her friend a grin and nodded to Bodhi before she left the hangar and wove her way through the base halls towards the offices housing Intelligence. She paused outside the door, overhearing people talking inside and wrapped lightly on it. There was a pause in the talking, then the door slid open and General Draven regarded her with his usual cool gaze. Jyn noted Cassian and another officer in chairs around a table, datapads scattered about the tabletop. 

“Sargent Erso, about time you got back. Report.”

After months of working with the General, Jyn was well used to his manner. She gave him a sharp nod and slid into an empty chair at the table. She and Draven still butted heads at times, but they’d learned to work with each other. “As stated in our reports, contact was made with the smugglers and we came to a general agreement. We ran into issues at the party, however. Attempted assassin, humanoid, pale skin, dark hair, about 1.7 meters tall, stocky build. As Princess Leia’s safety was a priority, neither I nor Trooper Graser were able to follow. Our Nar Shaddaa contacts offered to run a check on the guest list to see what they could find. They were using a holdout blaster.”

Draven grunted and nodded, picking up a pad and flipping through it. “As you reported. And you and Trooper Graser’s efforts were then redirected to getting the Princess off planet and then safely back to the Rebellion.” He gave her a brief look of satisfaction. “Decent work, Erso. While I know you might want more downtime, our network has been working with your contacts on Nar Shaddaa and found a possible lead. You and Captain Andor will be heading to an Imperial Gala on Naboo.”

“What’s the lead?” Jyn’s brows creased. 

“A trace of two of the guests on the Nar Shaddaa party list traced back to an Imperial Intelligence Officer,” Draven replied, nodding at a datapad on the table. Jyn picked it up and began flipping through the file as Draven continued. “Messages intercepted between Imperials and known bounty hunters and assassins with rumors and tips on where the Princess would be seen, specified contracts for her to be taken dead or alive.”

Jyn’s gaze darkened. “So we have a leak.”

Draven nodded stiffly. “We did, yes. We do not engage in Imperial methods of extracting information, nor do we condone torture, but we were able to find enough to implicate a former Naboo noble who joined the Rebellion last year. Many people have a price, and the Imperials found theirs.”

“Just one?” 

“We are still tracing additional lines of communication to ensure that we’ve actually closed the leak,” the General admitted. “That’s why this particular mission does not go beyond you and Captain Andor.” He paused, “And your crew.”

Cassian lifted his brows at that. 

Draven snorted. “Don’t look at me like that, Andor. I know blasted well you prefer to use Rogue One and Lieutenant Rook when you can. His ship carries cargo and passengers often enough that it’s a decent cover for him to take you and Erso to Hosnian Prime where you two can catch a luxury transport to Naboo.” He shook his head. “Moving on, this particular Imperial Officer is scheduled to be at the gala on Naboo. Ostenbily it is to celebrate how Naboo has flourished under Imperial rule.” 

Draven looked like he was chewing glass at that statement, and neither Cassian or Jyn could blame him. They all knew that very few places actually flourished under Imperial rule. The rich who supported the Empire lived in fear, while the ordinary citizens grew more afraid with each passing year of showing any dissent, less they were targeted by the Empire.

“What’s our timeline on this?” Cassian asked.

“The gala is scheduled for seven days hence,” Draven reported. “Enough time for you to get there and scope out guests and see what you can find prior to finding the Officer at the gala.”

“Joreth Sward?” Cassian inquired.

Draven nodded. “Sward and his recently wed wife Nevala Sward, formerly of Ord Mantell, daughter of a rich merchant who happened to catch Joreth’s eye. I trust the two of you can work out the semantics of the relationship without me.”

Cassian hid a faint smile, knowing that was as close as Draven would typically come to acknowledging the relationship between Cassian and Jyn, but it worked in their favor given the assignment. 

“I suggest the two of you spend the next few hours reading up on those files. For security sake they aren’t leaving this room for the moment. I’ll inform Rook of his assigned attachment to you and you’ll ship out tomorrow afternoon. Understood?” Draven regarded them appraisingly.

“Yes sir,” Cassian and Jyn said in unison. Draven gazed at them a moment longer and then nodded, leaving the room and the two of them to review the datapads.

Jyn at least waited until he was out of the room to place the datapad she held carefully on the table then plopped herself comfortably in Cassian’s lap. She trusted that they wouldn’t be disturbed for awhile at least since Draven had ordered them to review the files here, and they would review them but right now she wanted a kiss from her beloved.

The musical sound of Cassian’s laughter filled the room as he snaked an arm around her waist to secure her in his lap and caught the back of her head lightly with his hand, fingers tangling in her brown hair as she leaned down to kiss him. He met her sea colored gaze as he returned her kiss, feeling the relief of knowing they were together once again, at least for now.

They both knew how dangerous their jobs with the Rebellion could be, particularly after their improbable survival at Scarif. When Cassian and Jyn had realized in the months after Scarif that their friendship had slipped into a romantic relationship, they’d vowed to cherish the moments they got together. They both hoped for survival, that all of Rogue One would see the end of the war and beyond, but nothing was guaranteed.

“Miss me?” Jyn asked, with amusement in her voice and eyes as she gazed down at him.

“Always, my kyber-heart,” Cassian said. He sighed as she pressed her forehead against his own. “At least we’ll have tonight, and this mission.”

“Undercover as a married couple,” she added. “We’ll be expected to spend most time with each other if we’ve been recently wed.” 

“Mm, an excuse for me to play the doting husband then,” Cassian smiled. “Something I’ll enjoy why I can.”

“Maybe something you can do in the future,” Jyn promised. They’d bounced around the idea of actually getting married before. They’d already listed each other as next of kin on their files, they shared a bunk when they were both on base, and after what they’d survived, there was doubt that anything could break them apart, but they’d held off thus far, talking about it as something they might do if they survived all of this.

“I certainly look forward to it,” Cassian replied. He sighed then and shifted her on his lap so he could pick up his datapad once again. “Much as I’d love a more intimate reunion, we’d best review the files before dinner. Though I promise to check you over more thoroughly for injuries in our quarters tonight.”

“Bodhi’s expecting us at dinner anyway, and I’ll hold you to that promise,” Jyn told him. With some reluctance, she kissed his cheek and slipped to the chair next to him and retrieved her own datapad. 

His hand slipped below the table as they sat beside each other and he entwined his fingers with her own. She flashed him a brief smile and squeezed his hand before returning her attention to her attention to her own datapad.


	3. Naboo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassian and Jyn arrive on Naboo and follow the trail to their princess's assailant. And there's dancing.
> 
> Beautiful accompanying artwork by Doptimous  
> https://doptimous.tumblr.com/post/636231306723901440/theyre-still-in-the-ballroom-cassian-said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to check out the creators of the DailyRebelCaptain 2020 Big Bang on tumblr @dailyrebelcaptain
> 
> Give my Big Bang Visual Partner some love on tumblr @doptimous

The first part of their journey went smoothly, with Bodhi landing on Hosnian Prime with little resistance and paying the necessary “fees” at the space station to allow his passengers to disembark without inspection. Jyn and Cassian parted ways with him at the station after confirming that Bodhi would be picking up cargo to take to Naboo, his own cover for being on planet, while Jyn and Cassian disappeared into the cityscape of Darropolis and reemerging as Joreth and Nevala Sward, traveling to Joreth’s first major Imperial event since marrying his pretty wife. 

Jyn felt a little better knowing that Bodhi would be on Naboo as well in case they needed an extraction, as they might not have allies on Naboo as they’d had on Nar Shaddaa, even questionable as some might have considered the alliance since it was still in its infancy. They all knew there were likely other Rebellion operatives on Naboo, but depending on how deep their cover was or where they were positioned, Jyn and Cassian might not necessarily be able to count on them if they needed a quick escape.

When they slipped into the safehouse in Darropolis, Jyn was pleased to note someone had already prepared for their arrival, with trunks of more suitable clothing for their cover as the Swards packed and waiting for them. While she wasn’t entirely thrilled with the number of dresses she found in Nevala’s trunk, she was pleased to note that a high class traveling suit had been provided for the actual trip to Naboo.

“Cassian, would you mind helping with my hair?” Jyn asked, turning towards her lover once she had the suit on. She arched a brow when she saw the olive Imperial uniform he wore. “Not quite the same cut as the last time I saw you in Imperial colors. I think I like your regular clothing better.”

“You however, look lovely,” Cassian replied. “Pity we have to leave soon for the spaceport, else I might enjoy piecing that suit off of you.” He stepped up behind her, accepting the brush and hair ties she handed him. “Your hair’s getting longer.”

“It requires a bit more care sometimes, but if Draven's going to continue having me go on ops as socialites or places that require fancy dresses and updos, it makes more sense,” Jyn agreed. “I was thinking about cutting it after getting back from the op with Leia, but now..”

“Mm, yes, gives me a bit more to work with.” Cassian hummed as he spent the next several minutes braiding her hair and then wrapping it up into an elegant bun, suitable for travel but fancy enough for her cover identity. 

When Cassian stepped back, Jyn ran her fingers delicately over her hair and smiled over her shoulder at him. “It never ceases to amaze me the number of skills you’ve picked up in your years with the Rebellion.”

“Years of undercover work,” he chuckled. 

“Useful if we ever have children,” Jyn smiled.

Cassian gave her a soft, answering smile before he turned to close their trunks and grabbed the handles to take to the door where their transport would arrive soon. Like marriage, the idea of children was one they’d spoken of in the quiet dark of the night, a hope for a future they desperately wanted but could not guarantee. 

Jyn schooled her features before they left the safehouse, tilting her chin up in a haughty gesture as their trunks were loaded onto the speeder that would take them back to the spaceport. There were certain airs that people would expect of the new, young wife of the dashing Joreth Sward, and Jyn intended to play the part to the hilt. As with her op with Leia, and countless missions she’d run under Saw’s direction as a child, she knew it was far easier for her to get information out of people when they underestimated her. Whether assuming she was a small, naive child, or an air headed socialite, easily impressed by her new husband’s position and status, she had absolutely no trouble weaponizing their underestimation of her, particularly if it helped their mission and the Rebellion.

Cassian offered her his arm, his expression one of indifference as he guided her onto the speeder and they settled. Jyn watched from the corner of her eye as their speeder hummed towards the space port, noting the polite deference the speeder driver seemed to treat Cassian with at the sight of his Imperial uniform. The driver’s attitude seemed sincere enough, but given the Empire’s actions towards planets that didn’t bow to its whim, even if someone didn’t support the Empire, it was always safer to play along.

She kept the faintly haughty attitude as she and Cassian made their way through the spaceport, though let it begin to take on more of a wide-eyed and awed expression as they boarded the luxury transport ship that would take them to Naboo. As the daughter of a rich merchant, Nevala would be familiar with a certain amount of luxury, but it might also be expected that she wouldn’t have traveled on a luxury liner before because many merchants were still very circumspect their their credits and might discourage their families from spending too much on frivolities. 

The second half of their journey involved higher stakes than their trip to Hosnian Prime. With other Imperials and Imperial supporters on board, it remained imperative to maintain their cover unless they were within their private quarters. Some of the fare and flare she saw on the cruise reminded Jyn vaguely of the luxuries of her childhood, before Galen Erso had fled the empire and the destruction they would eventually force him to create, and these were luxuries that Nevala would have heard of, but some she might not have seen, so she allowed herself to wear a vague expression of awe or interest during most of the journey, listening with rapt attention when she caught the attention of an Imperial officer’s wife who evidently decided to entertain herself on the journey by “instructing” Nevala in what to expect on Naboo.

Cassian for his part played up the industrious Imperial aide who, in his time had served Admirals and other high ranking Imperial officials, quick to listen and willing to assist in those small tasks that an unattached aid might be expected to, or perhaps an aide looking for a new post that would suit him and allow him to spoil his lovely new wife. 

Within the relative privacy of their own quarters, after doing several sweeps for bugs, they spoke in low tones under the cover of sleep, both cautious of maintaining their guise from now until they were able to leave Naboo. 

“Most of the guests are rich supporters of the Empire and Imperial military,” Cassian told her as they watched the ceiling of their room, the ship slipping easily through space towards their destination. 

“The Major’s wife I spoke with said there are rumors that some members of Imperial Intelligence may be present, and I want to ensure that there is absolutely no question of my support for your career or the Empire in general,” Jyn replied. “It’s a Staff Agent we’re after, yes? For as high profile a target as the Princess, they wouldn’t risk a lower rank.”

“Mmm, one looking for new opportunities since the last attempt on her failed.” Cassian mused. “The question is how we’re going to corner them. With Joreth, social climbing isn’t out of the question, and he’s already served an Admiral. Intelligence doesn’t often make use of aides, but I could perhaps offer my services temporarily while they’re on Naboo, an extra set of eyes and ears out. There are enough rumors about other assignments that Joreth has had that I should be able to spin it.”

“The question is do we just incapacitate and interrogate, or are we looking to dispose?” Jyn asked quietly.

“Information, then disposal.” Cassian’s tone was quietly grim. “A higher ranking officer in Military Intelligence is a loose end that we can’t afford in these circumstances.”  
“No one’s going to believe an accident though, not of an MI.”

He shrugged. “We don’t make it look like an accident, instead we pin it on someone else. Rich supporter maybe, or a lower level officer who might have been looking to gain something. I want you to find out what else you can from that Major’s wife, and other significant others. There’s always gossip at galas like this, and you can find someone we can pin it on.”

“That I can do,” she replied. In their line of work, sometimes they had to choose sacrificial pawns in order to get their work done, and after everything she’d seen in Imperial custody and what she’d heard from other members of the Rebellion, she had little qualms about sacrificing ladder climbers who either supported the Empire, or served in the higher ranks of their military. 

“We’ll suss them out first, a little investigation and a few questions to the right officers should deliver the information on who at the gala is Imperial Intelligence, then we deal with who it is by process of elimination. I don’t expect here will be many Intelligence officers there, at least not necessarily those of higher rank. There are always agents about.”

Jyn snorted at that, “True. I remember certain nobles and officers who visited my father as a child, before we fled. There was one I’m fairly certainly near the end was an agent, and the one that caused my father to pack us up and flee.” She leaned into Cassian’s chest, her mind flickering back to the few memories of her childhood before her father was kidnapped by the Imperials and her mother was killed. Cassian knew instinctively what she was thinking about and ran his hand over her long dark hair, his touch soothing. 

“We’ll get them, Jyn, and be one step closer to ending this war, one step closer to seeing what our lives might be like in the aftermath.”

She let herself smile at his words and leaned up to kiss him, taking comfort in his embrace.  
******  
As their taxi speeder zoomed through the streets of the capital of Naboo, Jyn found herself wondering what the city had looked like before it’s great buildings and beautiful architecture were draped in Imperial flags. She kept the slightly awed-but-circumspect expression of a young woman who found herself under the potential scrutiny of her husband’s powerful employers plastered on her face. Cassian held her hand in his, his expression impassive. The speeder paused before a grand building, large domed roof rising stories into the sky, two imperial flags draped on either side of its imposing doors. 

Cassian disembarked from the speeder and offered Jyn his arm with a sharp nod. She rose smoothly from the speeder and slipped her arm through his. Her long skirts fell smoothly around her legs as they climbed the staircase and entered the building. She kept her gaze forward, though she watched the familiar white clad Storm Troopers stationed on either side of the door. Neither seemed to pay her or Cassian much mind, seeing only an Imperial Aid and his impeccably dressed wife, a sight they had no doubt seen several times within the past few days.

There was some comfort in the anonymity of being just one Imperial wife among dozens that would be at the gala, Jyn thought wryly. If she were to occupy such a position in reality, the Storm Troopers’ indifference towards her, it might be comforting, because it would be one less set of eyes intent on seeing how she messed up.

Jyn did not envy the wives of low ranking Imperial officers.

She and Cassian made their way through a long hall towards the first gallery of the building, her eyes flickering as they moved and noting that much of the original artwork and other Nabooian decor remained, but Imperial banners were placed evenly against the walls on either side of the hall, reminding everyone that no matter how beautiful Naboo was, it was still an Imperial territory. Decades ago the Queen of Naboo had fought for the freedom of her people, and now here people toiled under the yoke of the Empire.

As they entered the main gallery, domed ceiling sprially stories above them, a few lower ranking Imperial officers, Navy mostly from what Jyn saw, came to greet Cassian. They all gave him polite smiles as they greeted “Joreth” and a few congratulated him on his marriage as he introduced Nevala Sward. Jyn smiled politely and dipped her head in acknowledgement of their congratulations and a brief thank you, but most of them seemed content to not engage her in too much conversation. She was pretty and wide-eyed, presenting a front that she understood the importance of Joreth’s position but not necessarily the importance of what they spoke of.

It turned out to be a good cover when a Lieutenant Commander Henril Sinoels approached them and greeted Joreth with some familiarity. 

“Sward, I had heard you were a bit adrift recently,” Sinoels said in an inquiring tone after he greeted them and Jyn had given an appropriate smile and dip of her head to the Lieutenant Commander.

“Lieutenant Commander Sinoels, an honors as always, sir,” Cassian replied, his tone sharply respectful. “I have been advised I’ll be assigned to my new post shortly, sir, though I thank you for your inquiry. I’ve been allowed to take some personal time to travel with my wife, as such things may not be as easily accomplished depending on where I am next assigned.”

“Well, your work under Admiral Grendreef received high praise among the Admirals and some higher ranks,” Sinoels informed him. “You’ll no doubt find yourself in a good position soon. Until then, Aide Sward, I suggest you keep your ears open. There may be opportunities to assist certain aspects of the Navy and other branches of the Imperial military while you are here.”  
“Is there something in particular I should keep my eyes open for, Sir?” Cassian asked, the wheels in his mind clicking. If he recalled correctly, Sinoels did not serve Military Intelligence directly, but there’d been rumors of some kind of connection between Sinoels and Intelligence, that perhaps at one time Sinoels had served as an observer for Intelligence in situations where an overt military presence was needed, but Intelligence wanted to appear uninvolved. 

Jyn noted the slight squeeze of Cassian’s fingers on her arm, a predetermined sign that this might be a lead to their mission. She appeared to be admiring the Nabooian architecture, attention elsewhere, but she listened when Sinoels spoke.

“For now, just listen, but if a member of the Mullpar family approaches you, it would be prudent to pay attention,” Sinoels replied. Mullpar was the name of an old Naboo family, a powerful one that publicly supported the Empire and their control of Naboo and other core planets. 

Interesting, Jyn thought, storing this information away.

Cassian saluted smartly as Sinoels indicated he was moving on. “I will keep my eyes open, Sir,” he informed the Lieutenant Commander.

Sinoels smiled, that of an officer pleased with an obedient submissive. “Very good. As you were, Sward.”

Jyn exchanged a glance with Cassian as Sinoels moved on. Cassian continued to lead Jyn through the gallery, both mulling over what they had been told. It could be completely unrelated, but if the Mullpar family was involved, they both knew that the old Naboo family had a great deal of money, and a number of interesting connections, which might lead to them fronting some of the money meant to pay the contract on Leia.

Cassian led them further into the building towards the grand ballroom itself, pausing long enough to get them both crystal glasses from a passing server. There were some servers carrying around obviously alcoholic drinks, but Cassian with all his practice at Imperial events managed to find a server who carried an alternative fruit drink that was supposedly popular on Naboo. Better, Jyn thought, to remain sober during this op than risk being affected by alcohol during the wrong moment. 

Her eyes scanned the hall as they walked, noting Imperial officers, regardless of gender, in their dress uniforms, and spouses or companions dressed to impress in a myriad of dresses and suits depending on their preference, but all clearly expensive, though some night as tasteful as others. 

Jyn was fairly certain that Leia had picked the dress Jyn herself wore, a floor length silk blue number that skimmed lightly over her cleavage and left a good portion of the smooth skin of her back bare. The matching blue arm guards were a clever addition, and just loose enough for Jyn to conceal a slender knife beneath one. Her heels had been designed to dampen noise, which right now might not make a large difference with so many people around, but if she had Cassian had to do any stealthing, would be extremely useful.

Her look was enough to warrant a few interesting glares from some companions less trained in hiding their emotions than she was. She just kept a polite smile fixed on her lips, letting them think she was simply trying to to be overwhelmed by the company her new husband kept for business.

Many of the uniforms she saw were black or olive in fitting with Imperial navy and army dress, but as Cassian led her directly into the ballroom, she thought she saw a flash of white in one far corner. The cut didn’t lend itself to be a dress or some sort of fancy suit, and she knew that Imperial Intelligence wore white uniforms when they were being official. She tapped lightly on Cassian’s arm with one finger and he let his gaze follow hers, seeing the flash of white uniform before whoever it was vanished into the crowd again. She gave the slightest nod of her head in return to his questioning look. 

Two possible leads now, an Imperial Intelligence officer evidently attending the gala in uniform and mentions of a Naboo aristocratic family. Jyn wished they had more information on the Nabooian family, but as she saw Cassian scanning the room, she agreed that the lead involving the Intelligence officer was probably their best bet to begin with, based on the information they already had. 

Her thoughts raced as she listened to the nearby musicians strike up a stately tune. A few of the well dressed throng moved towards the dance floor to the east side of the ballroom, mostly younger officers and their wives, but a few Nabooians as well.

“They’re still in the ballroom,” Cassian said softly to her, lips barely moving. “Edge of the dance floor speaking to someone.” A smile graced his lips then and he gave her an enthusiastic bow while asking aloud, “Darling, dance with me?”

Jyn brought her hand up to her lips a moment, playing the part of tittering wife before accepting his hand and letting him guide her towards the dance floor. It was a pity, she thought briefly, that they were on assignment and tracking down an Imperial agent, otherwise they might have been able to take simple enjoyment in the chance to dance together.

Jyn and Cassian cut an elegant picture on the dance floor, the hem of her blue dress floating off the floor as Cassian spun her about. They appeared very much to just be a newly wed couple in love, maneuvering their way easily among the other dancers and flowing in time with the music. Sharp eyes watched from the corners of their gazes though, noting the human in dress whites of Imperial Intelligence speaking to a Nabooian noble. Cassian let them drift in that direction, his eyes appearing to be on Jyn the entire time as she gazed adoringly up at him.

“Moving towards the hall towards the east of the building,” Jyn whispered, and under the cover of the dance the movement of her lips could have been just simple conversation or loving endearments. No one was paying the young and infatuated couple much mind. 

As the song ended, Cassian and Jyn made their way closer to the white clad figure, using the guise of getting fresh drinks from a wandering server and moving towards the edge of the dance floor to watch the other couples. Cassian watched the Intelligence Officer walk in conversation with the noble towards the entrance to the hall, and then wander down it, appearing to be discussing something private all the while. Jyn had observed a few others moving in that direction earlier in the evening and tilted her head at Cassian. With a subtle nod, they sipped their drinks, meandering towards the hall themselves and pausing a few meters away from the hall entrance, still appearing to watch the dancers and the musicians. 

As they reached the edge of the hall entrance, Jyn noticed a few guests mingling further down the hallway and ran through a mental map of the building. She turned a winsome smile up to Cassian and spoke, “Darling, I do hear they have a beautiful library here, and some of the art is said to be absolutely priceless.”

Cassian’s expression was indulgent as he tucked her arm into his and began leading her down the hallway, the two of them strolling casually about, with Cassian giving an occasional nod to the other party goers they passed. The hall continued on for a short ways, but there were some smaller halls that spiraled off from the gold and white stone hall, and one perhaps fifty meters down their current hallway caught Jyn and Cassian’s attention. With a glance to ensure that anyone else in the hall had their attention elsewhere, the two Rebel agents slipped quietly down the smaller hall. 

The hissing of voices caught their ears as they found the entrances to small conference rooms off the smaller hall. Jyn leaned her back against the wall and pulled Cassian to her when they got close enough to make out what they were saying. 

“The Empire is no longer willing to deal with your incompetence in this matter, Mullpar.” The voice held a cold, clinical tone, one clearly uncaring for whatever emotion’s its intended audience had. “While your family may be financing some of this venture, your failures have lost you any say or control over the matter. And should you try and back out of the arrangement, you will be dealt with, accordingly.”

“It was one failed attempt,” an unimpressed voice replied, the dulcet tones of a Nabooian noble giving them away. “How many times has the Empire failed to deal with the target? How many times have they had the Princess in their custody and lost her?”

The chuckle from the Imperial voice sent a quiet chill down Jyn’s spine. “Do you really think you are in any position to criticize the Empire? You will continue to coordinate our efforts on Naboo, with supervision, but I will deal with the target and her extermination myself.”

Jyn didn’t ask Cassian any questions when he quietly handed her a holdout blaster, and removed a second from somewhere within his jacket. Spies, she thought lightly, they always had more weapons than you expected. They moved flawlessly together as they slipped around the corner into the meeting room. 

The Nabooian noble, a long nosed man with graying hair looked mildly shocked at having someone interrupt their meeting, but the Imperial, dressed in white as Jyn suspected they would be, immediately snapped to action and threw himself towards Jyn, certainly intent on using her against Cassian. 

She thanked the Sargent she’d trained with prior to her stint as Leia’s attendant for insisting she learn how to fight in heels and a dress as she whirled back into the room, maneuvering to avoid the agent’s grasp. She was vaguely aware of Cassian shoving something against the nobleman’s neck as the Imperial Agent twisted around to disarm her. He grasped her wrist to wrest the holdout blaster from her hand and pushed her stumbling back. 

She wondered how many female agents were trained to fight in high heels, several, she was sure, but he may have never trained with them since he evidently didn’t expect her to use the heels as leverage to kip herself up from the floor. 

As the agent turned her holdout blaster towards her to fire, the sound of another blaster sizzled through the air, and she watched the agent crumple before her.  
“Dravin will be mad we didn’t bring him back,” she remarked.

“Dravin will have to live with it,” Cassian replied as he maneuvered the now unconscious noble into a nearby chair. “But his body no doubt contains some useful information. Draven will be happy enough to have something to decode, and that at least one threat to Leia has been dealt with. 

Jyn knelt by the agent’s body and began searching through his uniform, collecting two code cylinders, his holo device, and a small datapad. She considered the man’s credit stick but left it, her eyes falling on the unconscious noble in the chair. “You dose him?” she asked, referring to the small injectables that Intelligence had armed them with prior to leaving the Rebel base days before. It was a relatively new development, and one she knew some might have moral qualms over, but the chemical within the portable syringes was designed to incapacitate for several hours, not kill, and in their line of work, she felt it was extremely useful. 

“Mm, there’s a secret exit nearby. If we can make it there without being seen, we can disappear with him,” Cassian replied. “If we position things correctly, we can leave Mulpar here and they may assume he passed out drunk, and if we’re lucky, take the blame or at least be suspected in the death of an Imperial agent.”

Jyn quickly checked the hall, noting that their commotion hadn’t attracted anyone just yet, though she wouldn’t be surprised if it attracted someone soon. As she watched the entrance Cassian arranged Mulpar and liberally applied alcohol from the man’s drink to his clothing, then left a blaster conspicuously near him. 

After they had righted clothing and hair, Cassian and Jyn once more took on the air of an indulgent husband and awed wife as they slipped from the room and began down the hallway once more. 

Kriff, she and Cassian both thought as they heard moving coming out of a meeting room another twenty meters down the tunnel.

“What in the Emperor’s name is going on?” demanded a stern voice as another Noble, a tight laced woman with elaborate hair, came rounding the corner. Cassian gazed at the Nabooian and said smoothly, “My wife and I are merely enjoying the beautiful architecture. It’s her first time on Naboo, you soon.”

“Hmph,” the woman sniffed. “And just who are you, Imperial?”

What was it with Nabooian nobles, who they already knew were in the Empire’s pockets, thinking they had a say over Imperial agents or the military, Jyn thought. 

Cassian’s gaze turned cold. “This is of no consequence to you. You’ll return to the party now.”

“Will I?” The woman sniffed again. “The governor shall hear of this.” She pushed roughly down the hall, jostling Jyn slightly, but she didn’t look back.

“I think we’d best be going,” Jyn suggested.

She kept glancing over her shoulder as they hurried through the tunnels while using a comm to contact Bodhi, blaster still raised in one hand. She wouldn’t relax completely until they were offplanet.

******  
“Why am I not surprised that there is a group of Rebels based on Naboo that Dravin neglected to tell us about in our files?” Jyn asked conversationally as they entered a spare bunk room in a Rebel safehouse somewhere outside of the Nabooian capital. Bodhi had evidently been briefed on the group, most serving the Rebellion under the guise of merchants and a shipping company, by one of his contacts.

“Because it’s Dravin,” Cassian sighed, dropping into a bunk. “Frankly I just want a few hours of rest until Bodhi gets here and can get us off planet.”

“Still being on planet after a successful capture makes me nervous,” Jyn admitted as she settled beside him on the bunk. 

“I don’t blame you,” Cassian replied. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her more firmly to his side. “But it shouldn’t be more than a few more hours. I do wonder how long it will take them to discover the agent.”

“Knowing the Empire, they’ll prefer to keep it quiet, he was Intelligence.”

“Mm,” Cassian hummed in agreement. He tilted his head, and Jyn smiled as she read his telegraphed emotions, leaning in to press her lips against his own. “But a few hours, to ourselves…”

“To sleep,” Jyn said with a chuckle.

“As long as you are at my side, my Kyberheart.” Cassian returned her smile as he lay back on the bunk and pulled her willingly with him. “We’ll be home soon.”

“As long as I’m with you Cassian,” she said, “I’m always home.”


End file.
